


Beautiful Circuitry

by Dipole_Moment



Series: Ilvermorny Academy [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Ilvermorny, Alternate Universe - Magic, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben is 14, F/M, Finn Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Finn has PTSD (Star Wars), Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV Ben Solo, POV Rey (Star Wars), Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is 12, Slow Burn (for the series), Teenage Angst is fun to write!, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dipole_Moment/pseuds/Dipole_Moment
Summary: “Is she a squib?” Luke asks.“Quite the opposite.”  Maz answers Luke with an admonishing glare.  “There is magic within her, but it has been hidden and placed under a powerful ward.”Leia inhales sharply.  “Who would do that to a child?”“Someone desperate,” the small woman replies.  “Someone who did not want her to be found.”-----------------Rey gets caught up in a world of magic and secrets, hoping it will help her find her parents.  Ben learns about his own heritage.  A misunderstanding sets the tone of their relationship for years to come.This is a prequel toJust You WaitandBen's Bad Hair Day.  It is not necessary to read those first.
Relationships: Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo
Series: Ilvermorny Academy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911727
Comments: 14
Kudos: 27





	1. The Scavenger & The Traitor

**Author's Note:**

> Chronologically this is the first story in the series. It is not necessary to read the other existing works before this one. The series is a Reylo slow burn, but they start off very young so romantic feelings develop in later stories.
> 
> THANK YOU to everyone who has given kudos/comments and shown excitement about this story! I've had a bit of writer's block recently and the feedback helps break me out of my funk :-)

Jakku isn’t a town as much as it is a place in-between towns. A concrete wall separates the mobile home park where Rey lives from the truck stop and rest area off the interstate. Hidden by an overgrown cottonwood is a section of the wall where the barbed wire has been cut away. Uncle Plutt does not like her poking about the rest stop, but he’s at the pub watching some sports match and won’t be home for a few hours

Besides, the dumpster behind the rest building is unguarded and typically yields her most interesting finds-- a camp tent with only a few holes, old electronics she takes apart and puts back together, postcards from faraway places. Her favorite so far is a thick, water-damaged engineering textbook (thankfully just water-damaged and not tainted by the other fluids she commonly encounters in dumpsters). She doesn’t understand most of the writing in the textbook, but she likes looking at the charts and diagrams. Wires are like veins, motors the heart, and circuit boards the brain. She loves the feeling of coaxing a broken machine back to life.

Rey is looking forward to seeing what the owners of the dusty, wood-paneled van in the parking lot will leave behind. It will be something good, she just knows it.

Rey is shrieks in surprise when a boy falls from the sky and lands among the trash bags.

“Owww,” the boy moans.

Rey glances up to the roof of the public facilities building and back down. She notices the boy clutching a strange broomstick. The rod dips inward above the bristles and has something that look like two bicycle kickstands jutting out the sides. Completely impractical for cleaning--almost like it was designed to be sat upon.

“Were you trying to fly?” she asks in disbelief.

“Yep,” the boy answers with a pained expression. “I’m not very good at it.” 

“Are you high or something?” Rey asks warily. She leans against the edge of the dumpster and puts a hand on the lip, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice.

The boy looks at her, seemingly confused. “I wasn’t that high...”

Rey has heard enough. She swings a leg over the lip of the dumpster, but hesitates at the desperation in the boy’s voice.

“Wait, please. I need your help. There are these bad people and they’re after me. I need somewhere to hide.”

“Maybe you should hide in rehab,” she mutters. 

The boy does not pick up on the sarcasm in her tone. Instead, he asks hopefully “Is it far? Can you take me there?”

Rey is now certain that the boy who jumped off the roof with a broom is either high, crazy, or both. Still, she notices the real desperation and fear in his expression and feels a pang of sympathy. “Umm, look there’s a pay phone by the vending machines. Maybe you should call your parents.”

The boy’s face falls in a way that is achingly familiar. “I don’t have parents,” he says quietly.

Me either, she almost says, but then it would make it true. She’s not ready for that. “Oh. I’m sorry.” 

Against her better judgement, Rey is about to tell the boy he can hang out in her patched-up tent for a while, but she doesn’t get the chance.

Something slams into the dumpster and knocks it violently into the adjacent wall. Rey is knocked off her feet and her hand lands in something red and syrupy.

“Oh, merciful Merlin, they’re here!” The boy scrambles into a crouch and peeks over the edge of the dumpster. “There’s three of them, we have to go!” Rey stands up again and sees three adults in fitted black coats—much too heavy for December in Arizona-- running towards them from the interstate. Vehicles that normally whoosh past the rest stop are unnaturally still. 

Each black-coat grips a slender stick in their hands. As Rey watches, the woman on the right makes a flinging motion with her stick—a wand, she realizes-- and a shockwave hurtles towards the dumpster. She has just enough sense to duck back down before it hits and jostles the dumpster again.

“Who are those people?” she demands, following the boy as he jumps out the side of the container.

“Just trust me, they’re bad!” He grabs her sticky hand and pulls her with him towards the parking lot.

Rey yanks her hand back, not ready to trust this maybe-not-crazy boy, but keeps pace with him. ~~~~

Their feet pound on the pavement as they turn the corner of the building. The lot is sparsely populated. A few tired truck drivers and families with minivans look up in surprise. Rey sees a state patrol vehicle and feels a surge of hope. She points and the boy follows her lead.

They are 25 yards away when the state trooper gets out of her car and turns towards them. They are 20 yards away when Rey looks over her shoulder and sees their three pursuers have rounded the building and are gaining ground. 

The trooper pulls a transceiver off her belt and starts speaking into it. They are 15 yards away from the safety of an adult authority figure when another wave of energy blasts past Rey and hits the vehicle.

The state trooper’s car explodes into flame and she is thrown to the ground. Thick black smoke rises in plumes from the car. The trooper lays motionless on the ground and Rey thinks she sees scorch marks on the woman’s vest. She pushes the thought from her mind and focuses on pumping her legs faster.

She sees the dirty wood-paneled van at the back of the lot. The back doors hang open and a man in a scuffed leather jacket is pawing frantically through boxes, searching for something. An upright shaggy bear-like creature stands next to him, and Rey briefly wonders if maybe she’s the crazy one. She can’t let herself focus on that though.

What she does focus on is the sound of a running motor and the van’s open driver’s side door.

“There,” she points and calls to the boy. She has to raise her voice over the sound of crackling flames and alarmed shouting.

“Can you drive?” he asks seriously, as if it was normal for a 12-year-old girl to have a driver’s license.

“I hope so!” Rey has sat in a fair number of broken-down cars at Uncle Plutt’s salvage yard. She used to play with the buttons and knobs and imagine going far, far away from Jakku. She used to imagine driving across open road knowing exactly where she would end up-- wherever her parents were.

They sprint past the van’s owner and the strange creature at his side. Rey pushes the boy into the van through the open door and keeps shoving until she can climb into the driver’s seat.

“Hey!” the man yells.

Rey pulls the door shut and stretches her legs, trying to reach the foot pedals. Her seat jerks forward without warning, putting her foot within reach and prompting her to buckle the belt across her lap with shaking hands. She knows there is something she is supposed to pull while stepping on the clutch but has no idea where it is.

She holds her foot down on the clutch and starts pulling and moving every lever she can find. Blinkers click and a stream of liquid shoots across the windshield. The boy fiddles with the radio knobs in an attempt to help, but only manages to make the vehicle vibrate with the basso notes of smooth jazz.

“Quit it!” she snaps over Kenny G’s greatest hits. The car lurches forward. “Yes!”

Rey grips the steering wheel with white knuckles and presses the gas pedal all the way to the floor. The tires squeal as they accelerate through the parking lot, but not as quickly as she wants. The back of the van is loaded down with cardboard boxes.

They roll past their pursuers as they head towards the interstate on-ramp. Rey sees one black-clad wand-carrying bad guy on the ground, another being grappled by the bipedal hairy creature, and the third pointing his wand at the van. The left side-mirror is sheared off the van by another shockwave— a spell, she realizes.

“Can you do anything?” Rey asks the boy.

He shakes his head. “They don’t let us carry wands…but maybe I can try something else.” He climbs over the console and starts pushing boxes out the back of the van, creating obstacles for their pursuers. He doesn’t need to do this for long though, because now they are on the highway blowing past motionless cars and people on cell phones. The boy whoops in relief as their attackers get smaller and smaller in the distance.

Rey’s pulse doesn’t start to slow until the rest stop where she likes to dumpster dive is far in the distance. A newscaster speaks loudly over the radio- something about the recent rise in domestic terrorism across the country. Rey forcefully jabs the button to turn the radio off.

“I don’t even know your name,” she realizes. “I’m Rey.”

“I’m Finn…thank you for helping me. I’m sorry I got you involved in all this,” he says morosely.

“I’m sorry I thought you were crazy.”

“It’s okay. You’re not supposed to know about us anyhow,” he says cryptically.

“Us?”

“Magic-kin. Witches, wizards, all the people and creatures with magic in their blood.”

“Like that big shaggy guy?”

“Yeah, a sasquatch!” His mood shifts from despondent to excited. “I can’t believe I actually saw one- they are incredibly rare!” He gives her a startled look. “Actually, you shouldn’t have been able to see him at all. They have natural magic that hides them from No-Maj. Maybe you’re Muggle-born or a Squib!”

Rey frowns. “Those sound like made-up words…but right now we need to stop so we can close the back doors.”

They have been fortunate so far there have been no other cars on the road to report a pre-teen driving a van with the doors hanging open. Rey doesn’t expect their good luck to last.

Finn pulls the doors closed and returns to the passenger seat. They sit in silence for a long moment. There’s a pair of gold dice hanging from the rearview mirror, swaying slightly.

The van starts rolling forward, slowly. Rey frowns and presses her foot down on the brake. It doesn’t budge. The steering wheel rotates to the left and directs them back onto the highway. Rey grabs it and pulls. It resists her efforts. They start to pick up speed.

“Finn?” she asks. “Are you doing this?”

“No. Aren’t you?”

“No! Is it those people from before?”

Rey climbs into the back of the van, leaving the driver’s seat unmanned. She sees no one- not behind them, on either side, or in front.

They panic when the van turns off the road and carries them into the scrublands. They are jostled back and forth as they try all the windows and doors and find them immovable. Rey tries the brake again- putting all her weight into depressing the lever. No effect. It’s the same with the emergency brake. She crows with success when she’s able to remove the keys from the ignition, but the van continues on its journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter for updates and sneak peaks! [@dipole_m0ment](https://twitter.com/dipole_m0ment)
> 
> **Comments feed my hungry soul!**


	2. The Skywalker Heir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Solstice Eve, and Ben is alone. They are supposed to be having a family dinner right now, but Leia had a work emergency, Uncle Luke was caught up in astrology bullshit, and Han left hours ago for a supply run.
> 
> Typical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author’s Note** : I have combined Ben’s POV from last chapter with what I had written for chapter 2 for better flow. This is short on new material, so chapter 3 will hopefully go up this weekend!
> 
> Also- Ben alternates between referring to his family as mother/father and Leia/Han as he tries to separate his identity from those of his parents.

It’s Solstice Eve, and Ben is alone. They are supposed to be having a _family dinner_ right now, but Leia had a _work emergency,_ Uncle Luke was caught up in astrology bullshit, and Han left hours ago for a supply run.

Typical.

> _“Hey, Kid. Want to take a ride in the Falcon? Could use a co-pilot.”_
> 
> _“I’m studying.”_

His father never turns down a job. Never turns down an excuse to leave. And his father can’t blame it on being a squib anymore, because here they have electricity and Han can everything himself, just the way he likes.

Ben hates this house. He hates “Muggle-town,” the suburbs of Ilvermorny. It’s far enough away from downtown Ilvermorny and the Academy for No-Maj technology to work, provided the residents don’t oversaturate the area with magic. Most of the residents are mixed-blood families that fled Europe during Palpatine’s reign of terror. The No-Maj here are under a strict covenant to protect the secrecy of all magic-kin, and many even consult for the Magical Congress of the United States of America on No-Maj affairs.

Ben doesn’t want live in Muggle-town- he wants to be back at the Naboo estate, where house elves take care of all the mundane tasks, he can practice his craft as much as he wants, and most importantly- if they still lived at the Naboo estate he would be going back to Hogwarts at the end of holiday break.

At their Ilvermorny house he has _chores,_ some of which he has to do _manually_ without magic. He frequently has to stop practicing just when he’s on the verge of a breakthrough or else he’ll blow out all the electrical devices in the house. One time it was the whole block, and his mom made him apologize to all the neighbors individually. It’s not like they couldn’t afford to replace all the broken No-Maj technology.

Being held back, languishing in mediocracy, is what galls him the most.

Leia said moving their permanent residence to the US would be good for everyone. She would have a better job or something like that, his dad would be more comfortable and maybe stick around more, and Ben would get to “experience a different side” of the magical community.

Ben knew that wasn’t all of it though. It wasn’t for Leia’s career, or Han’s desire for independence, or Ben’s worldliness. It was because his parents didn’t want him to be a Slytherin.

His mother had been a Gryffindor- already prejudiced against Slytherins based solely on an ingrained rivalry between the two Houses. His dad was a Squib who didn’t even know about magic-kin until he was an adult, and his uncle Luke went to school at the Ilvermorny Academy for Magical Studies. But they didn’t like Slytherin’s either because Palpatine was a Slytherin and they lead the rebellion that ended his dictatorship. They didn’t understand that being a Slytherin didn’t _make_ you bad- there were plenty of witches, wizards, and more from other Houses who turned dark. Even Hufflepuffs! It’s true that the most infamous among them happened to be Slytherins, but that was because Slytherins were just innately more ambitions and cunning than everyone else. Other dark magic-kin gravitated to powerful individuals.

They said it didn’t matter that he’d been sorted into Slytherin. They said he got to choose who he wanted to be. But he heard them whispering when they thought he was asleep. They worried his peers were bad influences, that he’d be corrupted by the very nature of Slytherin House. Admittedly, he did get into a few altercations with Gryffindor students. And maybe he didn’t always make the wisest choices, but they never even _listened_ to his side!

He only attended Hogwarts for one year before they moved and he was forced to transfer to the Ilvermorny Academy for Magical Studies. It was a second-rate school compared to Hogwarts, and his uncle was into _alternative_ learning environments. Typewriters, community service hours, PTSA meetings and shit like that.

It was a sweet bit of irony that he was sorted into the Horned Serpent House at the Academy. House designations weren’t considered that important compared to Hogwarts, but being sorted into another House with a serpentine mascot only reinforced his conviction that he was a true Slytherin.

Ben tries to occupy himself with the No-Maj entertainment machine his father gave to him as an early Christmas present. He can’t get the hang of it though, and the third time “GAME OVER” appears on the television screen he throws the plastic controller across the room. It leaves an indentation in the wall that Ben tries to hide behind a browning Ficus. He’s caused enough destruction to have perfected several variations of mending spells, but it will be several hours before the needle on the spell-o-meter lowers enough for him to safely cast again.

Ben is startled by a knock at the door. Well-wishers don’t usually make visits until the night of the Solstice. He hopes they will leave quickly once they realize Leia isn’t home. Ben is always uncomfortable exchanging small pleasantries.

But when he opens the door the front stoop is empty. The snow reveals a set of footprints leading up the long walkway to their front door. A small brown box wrapped in paper and twine sits on their welcome mat. He peers around again looking for the gift-giver, but sees no one.

Ben swoops to pick up the mysterious package and bring it inside. It’s probably a gift for his mother from one of her close friends or sycophants. Or maybe an exploding stink beetle from one of the congress members she’s constantly feuding with.

The name on the tag, however, says ‘Benjamin Skywalker’. Did they get his name wrong? It was common knowledge at the Academy that Headmaster Skywalker was his uncle, but no one had ever called him Skywalker before.

Intensely curious, he slides off the twine and parchment wrapping and opens the box. Inside is a ring. A Slytherin class ring, to be exact, with the initials A.S. Whoever it belonged to graduated more than half a century ago.

Why would someone give this to him? Particularly someone who didn’t even know his actual name.

An idea propels Ben to enter his mother’s home office. She keeps an archive bowl on her desk- a large, shallow brass bowl filled with clear water. His father calls it the “wizard internet.” He taps his wand on the rim of the bowl three times and requests the record he desires, decidedly ignoring the room’s flickering light bulbs. The surface of the water clouds for a long moment, before resolving into the image of a paper document- the Hogwarts class roster from the ring owner’s graduation year.

Ben scans the list of students with surnames beginning with S. Sayu, Secura, Sing…Skywalker.

Anakin Skywalker. The name is vaguely familiar. A distant relative of Luke and Leia, he thinks. The twins were separated after their mother died in delivery. Leia was adopted by the Organas and Luke was taken in by relatives in America. Ben had never put much consideration into his biological heritage. Leia was always adamant that Bail and Breha were her parents, regardless of biology. Luke was raised by relatives, but never spoke about his parents. As far as he knew, by the time Ben was born Luke, Leia, and Han were his only surviving blood relatives. Leia’s parents and Luke’s aunt and uncle all died during Palpatine’s reign. Many people, muggle and magic-kin alike, died under Palpatine.

Someone wanted Ben to have something of Skywalker’s though. More than that, they thought he _was_ a Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker graduated from Hogwarts around the time his grandparents would have. And he was a Slytherin.

It made sense now, why his mother and uncle never spoke about their birth parents. They were ashamed to be descended from a Slytherin! And so they must be ashamed of Ben as well, for he took after Anakin Skywalker. His grandfather.

Around Ben, No-Maj devices start to flicker and spark in an expanding radius as he uses the archive bowl to search for every mention of Anakin Skywalker he can find. Leia will be mad, but it doesn’t matter. He’ll just say he didn’t want to stop practicing his spell work. It wouldn’t be the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to everyone who continues to leave kudos and comments! I had no idea just how much it can make an author's day until I started writing :-)
> 
> Come hang out me on Twitter! I post occasional updates, teasers, and sneak peaks!- @dipole_m0ment


	3. The Tragic Backstory Exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Previously..._
> 
> _Rey is pulled into a world of magic and peril when a boy falls out of the sky. They escape in a stolen van, but soon realize the van is driving them instead of vice versa._
> 
> **Quick favor to ask-** If you're reading and enjoying the story please let me know with a comment! I'm trying to discern if there's interest in this part of the story or if I should skip ahead.
> 
> Thanks!

Unable to do anything else, Rey and Finn talk.

Rey learns that Finn escaped from an isolated compound, where he was raised with a handful of other parentless children. They had all been abandoned by their No-Maj families, but the First Order found and rescued them. Except recently Finn started feeling like that might not be true. He confided his fear in a classmate he thought he could trust.

The next day they took him to something called “reconditioning.” Rey didn’t know what that meant, and the liquid shine in his eyes kept her from asking.

His days were filled with classes and chores. He learned about the way the world used to be, witches and wizards living among No-Maj, ruling over them, serving them. He learned about the jealous and fearful nature of the No-Maj, and how as their numbers grew, they persecuted and slaughtered those suspected to be witches. The young and uneducated were not able to defend themselves against the brute force, and perished alongside falsely accused No-Maj.

He was meant to learn how to hide in the No-Maj world, how to gather information, and how to protect his magical kin. For his first field exercise they took him to a café. His heart was in his throat as he stood in line, waiting for his turn at the counter. A wild-eyed man stood just outside the café, passing out fliers and promising fire and brimstone to those who aligned themselves with evil. Finn did not have to wonder what evil he was referring to. He was terrified the man would see him and recognize him for what he was.

He distracted himself by studying the No-Maj around him, watching closely as they ordered refreshments he had never heard of before and paid with plastic cards or paper money. He clutched his paper currency with sweaty hands and rehearsed his order in his mind.

_A small black coffee, please._

The cup was dumped as soon as they got back to the compound. He gave his report in front of Mage Sloane and the rest of his peers, and they gasped in horror at the mention of the wild-eyed man—the witch-hunter. Sloane asked the youth what they thought should be done to contain the threat. 

_Kill him_ , was the unanimous decision. _Protect our own._

It had been Finn’s next assignment. He’d laid awake last night, unable to sleep, thinking about the No-Maj he’d seen in the café. The bubbly woman with pink hair, who’d taken his order and written his fake name on the cup- ‘Mike’ with a little heart above the ‘i.’

The two youth, not that much older than him, who smiled shyly at one another and brushed hands over textbooks and loose papers.

The little girl wearing a pink princess dress and carrying a toy sword, who wailed and threw a fit when she was told she could not have a cookie. And the exasperated yet amused expression the girl’s father shared with his spouse as their child declared that her life was ruined _forever_ without the cookie.

It should have been easy. All he needed to do was drop the incendiary charm near the witch-hunter and move to a safe distance before it lit up. But he couldn’t exactly ask everyone else to please stay back at a safe distance until his bomb detonates. Other people would surely get hurt. Maybe even killed. The thought twisted his stomach.

“Running away is the first thing I’ve done in a long time that feels right,” Finn confides.

“I think you’re incredibly brave,” Rey tells him and squeezes his hand. She accidentally uses her sticky one, but he doesn’t complain. She understands now why he grabbed her hand when they were running from the First Order. 

She tells him about her life, and what she remembers of her parents. She hasn’t seen them since she was five. Rey uses her own reflection to help her remember her mother’s dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Maybe it wasn’t an exact match- maybe the hair was darker or eyes greener- but it’s close enough to give Rey a small amount of comfort. She remembered her mother’s full, cupid’s bow lips curling into a secret smile.

She remembers her father’s eyes, but not much else. The rest of his features shift and blur in her mind’s eye. Was his hair dark like her own, or light? Did it curl or lay flat? Was his nose long and slender or soft and wide? Was his skin pale like her mother’s, or warm and brown like the sun spots she gets on her shoulders in the summer? Every time she thinks she’s found a memory to anchor him in her mind’s eye, it slips from her grip and she’s left unsure again.

But his eyes never change. They are always the same shade of brown- like the coffee beans he used to grind by hand every evening. So he could have his fresh coffee early in the morning and Mama and Rey could sleep as long as they liked.

She used to sit on his lap, safe in his arms, and stare at the texture of his irises. “ _Remember, mi reinita, look for my eyes_.”

The last time she saw those eyes they were overflowing with fear and desperation. “Stay here, sweetheart,” her mother’s voice said, strong but soft. “We’ll come back for you, I promise.”

She was left in the care of Uncle Plutt. He never talked about her parents, what they were like or where they went. She came to the soft realization a few years ago that Plutt was not really her uncle. It was like finding out Santa Claus was fake- she’d already known it in her heart, but her mind brushed the truth away until it became too heavy to ignore. Regardless, it was easier if people thought he was her uncle. There were less questions, less fear that she would be taken away by a social worker in a pantsuit. It was important she stay with Uncle Plutt.

_We’ll come back for you, I promise._

“Where do you think they went?” Finn asks.

“I have no idea,” Rey confesses. “I just remember they were afraid…and they had go away until it was safe.”

“I hope they come back.” Finn gives her a weak smile.

Eventually, the van comes to a stop at a tiny, secluded cabin. The owner of the van is standing out front with his arms crossed, wearing a grumpy scowl and a well-worn leather jacket. His eyes are brown, she notes absentmindedly, but not the right hue. Too light. 

The sasquatch looms over his shoulder.

“Alright, joy ride’s over. Now get the hell out the Falcon.”

Rey puts a hand on the door lever but does not move. She knows not to get in vans with strangers. She’s not quite sure what you’re supposed to do when you’ve already stolen the stranger’s van and now he wants you to get out. “Who are you?” she demands through the windshield.

The man rolls his eyes and walks over to open her door- the sasquatch moving to match on Finn’s side. The Falcon obviously has its allegiances because the door locks pop up helpfully.

The man pulls open Rey’s door and fixes her with a stern look. “I’m the guy you stole this van from! Nobody drives the Millennium Falcon but Han Solo!”

Finn stops shrinking back from the sasquatch and turns his head in surprise. “ _You’re_ Han Solo? Leia Organa’s uhhh…husband?”

The sasquatch warbles in what Rey interprets as a laugh.

“Smooth, kid. Yeah, I’m Han Solo. What’s it to you?”

Finn lights up, hopeful. “The First Order _hates_ you! You’ll help us, right?”

Han gives them each an inscrutable look. “First Order, huh? You kids better come inside and tell me what the hell you’ve dragged me into.”

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Han points a finger at Finn, “this First Order group is after you because they kidnapped and brainwashed you and now you’ve run away.” Finn nods from his seat on Han’s faded blue couch. His leg is bouncing up and down next to Rey’s, and she puts a hand on his knee. Partially so he will stop jostling her, but also because she has realized the power of touch. 

Facing sudden and dangerous circumstances together has unified them, and they will protect each other from the world. 

Han swings his arm in Rey’s direction. “And _you_ are just a girl who was in the wrong place in the wrong time.”

“Yeah. But Finn says I’m probably a ' _squid_ ' or a ' _mul-gul born_ ' because I can see Chewie,” she hooks her thumb in the direction of the Sasquatch currently overflowing an ugly orange armchair.

Chewie lets out a chuffing laugh and Finn mutters to her, “ _squib_ or _muggle-born_.”

Han sighs. “How do I always get involved in this shit?”

Chewie emits a throaty moan and Han looks offended. “That’s not true! Alright, I have to go make a call. You kids sit tight and _do not_ touch anything!”

Han exits the cabin and leaves Rey, Finn, and Chewie sitting in uncomfortable silence. Rey can discern snippets of Han’s conversation from inside.

_“I know, this was supposed to be a quick job-”_

She can just barely make out another voice. Low, but feminine. Displeased.

_“We have bigger problems than that, your Highness-”_

Chewie emits a soft noise Rey doesn’t know how to interpret, so she just smiles back. He looks satisfied.

“What’d he say?” Finn mumbles.

“No idea,” she admits. She thinks it was supposed to be reassuring though.

_“—let the wizard police handle it?”_

Rey looks around at all the things she’s not supposed to touch. There isn’t much. Aside from the small sitting area they occupy there is a propane stove, a few shelves with canned food mismatch dishware, and a small round table with a single chair. A few boxes are stacked in corners and against walls, and there’s a small wooden chest with a rusty lock. That’s about it.

_“Alright, alright. See you soon.”_

Han reenters the cabin. “Chewie can you meet me at Maz’s with what’s _left_ of the delivery?” He eyes Finn and Rey pointedly when he says this. “The kids need to go by flue.”

“But you don’t have a fireplace,” Finn points out with confusion. Rey is also confused, but for different reasons.

“Wait, wait!” Rey jumps up. “I don’t know where you’re planning on going, but I need to get home. I’ve already been gone too long.” She can already imagine the thumping she’s going to get from Plutt when she returns after being missing for several hours.

“Rey, you can’t!” Finn pleads. “The First Order saw you with me! They’re going to be after you too!”

“I’m not part of this! Why would they care about me? Besides, I need to be home when my parents come back!”

“We’ll help you get ahold of your parents,” Han assures her. “Where are they?”

Rey’s heart stutters. She hates this question. “I don’t…they didn’t tell me.”

Han looks like he’s holding in a groan. “Did they say when they’d be back?”

Rey pauses. Han’s expression shifts very subtly. His annoyed edges soften into something else. “Soon,” she answers. Her voice is too quiet. She tries to muster up more volume. “They’ll be back soon.”

Finn doesn’t say anything, and she’s grateful.

“Alright,” Han says with deliberate mildness. He hesitates, but Rey can feel the question before he speaks it and offers a different answer instead.

“I’m staying with my Uncle Plutt until they get back.”

His eyes flicker with surprise. “Unkar Plutt?”

“Yes…do you know him?”

“I know of him. Didn’t know he had a niece.”

“We’re not really related,” she mumbles. She usually doesn’t care if people think she’s Plutt’s niece. It makes things easier. But with Han if feels different.

“Ok, kid.” Han’s face softens even further. Rey hates how she both craves and fears that softness. “How about this. Come help me sort out this mess now, and then I’ll help you get to wherever you want to be.”

“Okay,” she relents. She feels like she can trust Han. And maybe these “witches, wizards and more” can use magic to help her find her parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any theories about Rey's parents?
> 
> "Mi reinita” means "little queen" in Spanish- please note I do not speak Spanish so I'm assuming it can be used as a term of endearment for a young girl.
> 
> **Please give me the external validation I so ardently crave by leaving a comment!**


	4. Obliviate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maz looks between Han and the fireplace expectantly. “Where’s my order?”
> 
> Han rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that…Chewie’s on his way with what’s left. Ran into a few problems on the way back,” he gestures at Rey and Finn.
> 
> Maz’s attention shifts to Rey and Finn. She scrutinizes them each in turn, spending a few moments longer on Rey. “Problems, hmm? Well, at least they’ll be good for stew.”
> 
> She bursts into laughter at Rey’s alarmed look. “Relax, it was just a bit of humor. Although I do not think you belong here, child.” 
> 
> She says this kindly and without malice, but it makes Rey’s heart sink all the same. She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t belong in Jakku with Plutt. She doesn’t belong anywhere.
> 
> “No-Maj, then?” Han asks.
> 
> Maz nods.
> 
> Finn’s shoulders slump and he meets Rey’s eyes dejectedly. “I’m sorry…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter because life has been A Bit Much recently but I still want to update once a week. I didn't think my rust bucket of a car would have anything worth stealing but apparently catalytic converters are hot right now -_-
> 
> If you're enjoying the story please let me know in the comments or [ Twitter (@dipole_m0ment)](https://twitter.com/dipole_m0ment)!

Finn watched with astonishment as Han lit kindling in a rudimentary firepit behind the cabin. He couldn’t get over the fact that they were going to use Floo powder without an actual flue. Rey couldn’t get over the fact that they expected her to willingly jump into an emerald inferno, magic or not.

They seemed to think watching Finn go first would put her at ease. It did not. Han ended up shoving her into the circle of rocks and throwing dusty green powder at her feet. She instinctively squeezes her eyes shut and shouts her intended destination. “Takodana Tavern!”

She feels her body become gaseous- rising like smoke and being swept up in a stiff breeze. She is just starting to acclimate and enjoy her new weightless existence when the breeze turns into a wind tunnel, and the wind tunnel into a disconcerting assault of noise, smells, and light. Then Finn is there, taking her by the arm and pulling her into a low-lit tavern.

“Always remember to step out right away,” he reminds her, “or else you’ll get trampled by the next person.”

Rey observes their new surroundings. Candles provide soft lighting for the tavern and create shadowy corners in high-backed booths. The low din of conversation is interspersed with raucous laughter. Patrons are scattered throughout the establishment playing cards, nursing beers, and one man who is slumped over the bar snoring.

Behind the bar, glassware floats as it is picked up by invisible hands and wiped dry with a dish rag.

A worn plaque on the wall reads:

**LET IT BE KNOWN**

**A CURSE BEFALL ALL YE**

**WHO SUNDER OR DEFILE**

**PROPERTY OF HERE-TO OWNER**

It’s marked on the bottom with an unfamiliar sigil that gives off a faint red glow. Next to the plaque is a more contemporary sign informing patrons “You Break It You Buy It.”

A short, wizened humanoid steps out from behind the bar- Rey hadn’t been able to see them over the counter top- and approaches them. She assumes this must be Maz, proprietor of Takodana Tavern. Han had described her as “something else,” but it hadn’t occurred to Rey he might be speaking about the woman’s species and not her personality. The shape of her skull, orange-hued skin tone, and tiny, wide-set eyes almost reminded Rey of an alien.

She figured it would be rude to ask, though, so she kept silent.

_Whoosh._

Han bumps into them from behind. “What’d I say about moving out of the way?” he grumbles.

“HAN SOLOOO!” Maz closes the distance remaining between them in an excited dash. The man slumped over bar jerks awake. 

Maz looks between Han and the fireplace expectantly. “Where’s my order?”

Han rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that…Chewie’s on his way with what’s left. Ran into a few problems on the way back,” he gestures at Rey and Finn.

Maz’s attention shifts to Rey and Finn. She scrutinizes them each in turn, spending a few moments longer on Rey. “Problems, hmm? Well, at least they’ll be good for stew.”

She bursts into laughter at Rey’s alarmed look. “Relax, it was just a bit of humor. Although I do not think you belong here, child.” 

She says this kindly and without malice, but it makes Rey’s heart sink all the same. She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t belong in Jakku with Plutt. She doesn’t belong anywhere.

“No-Maj, then?” Han asks.

Maz nods.

Finn’s shoulders slump and he meets Rey’s eyes dejectedly. “I’m sorry…”

Rey doesn’t have time to process the implications of this news because another arrival materializes with a _whoosh_ and bumps into Han, who in turn bumps into Finn and Rey.

A low, feminine voice sighs in exasperation. “Han, how many times do I need to remind you to _step to the side_!”

“Hello to you too, dear.”

The woman stepping out of the fireplace is somehow both regal and unpretentious. Her hair is braided into a crown atop her head and she wears flowing black robes over a dark blue dress.

_Whoosh._

“ _Leia_ ,” a man complains. “Why are you standing right in front of the fireplace?”

The latest arrival herds them all further into the tavern. He looks like a man who takes himself far too seriously, but is not without laugh lines. Sharp glacier-blue eyes take in Rey and Finn.

“Hmm,” Maz remarks. “I take it this isn’t a social gathering.”

“Unfortunately not,” the woman named Leia confirms. “Maz, may we use the suite?”

“That bad, eh?” Maz plucks a key from a ring hanging off her belt and hands it to Leia. She inspects Rey and Finn again, this time more gently. “In that case I’ll warm up some chocolate.”

“Thank you.” Leia takes the key and leads them through the tavern, past the kitchen and up a flight of stairs.

Candles flicker to life as they enter a lavishly decorated suite. The furniture is carved from a rich cherry wood and there is a prominent heart motif in the décor. A bottle of champaign and two flutes sit on a low coffee table in front of a fireplace. A sign on the mantle states “No Flue Travel” with a symbol of a padlock.

“The room is scry-proof,” Leia explains. Rey nods as if she knows what that means.

While the blue-eyed man checks window latches and pulls closed curtains, Leia makes introductions. Rey starts to feel more at ease when she learns Leia is Han’s wife, and the other man is her brother Luke. She feels like she can trust Han, and if these are his people then she can trust them too.

Maz joins them, a large silver tray laden with refreshments floating behind her, and they settle around the low coffee. Maz places large mugs of steaming hot chocolate in front of Rey and Finn. The beverage is comforting, warm and smooth- like a chocolate bar that’s been melted down and poured into a cup. So, _so_ much better than the powder mix she has at home. Rey closes her eyes and lets the first sip sit on her tongue. When she opens them again Leia is looking at her with a soft smile.

“So,” Luke starts, “who wants to tell me why I had to scrap my divination ritual to meet kids in Maz’s honeymoon suite?”

With prompting, Finn and Rey tell their respective stories of how they came to be chased by the First Order. The adults share increasingly concerned glances as Finn recounts his upbringing with the First Order and recent escape. They interrupt him several times to ask questions about the location of the First Order compound, what his training was like, and who he saw there. 

“ _Archimage Pryde? As in Enric Pryde?”_ Luke interrupts at one point.

“Yes.” The comfort of rich hot chocolate and trustworthy adults had allowed Finn to release some of the tension in his body, but discussing Pryde puts him on edge again. Rey knows from their intimate conversation in the Millennium Falcon that Pryde is the source of many of Finn’s nightmares.

“We already knew the circumstances of his death were suspicious. At least now we know where he’s been hiding,” Leia remarks. “And that he’s given himself a presumptuous new title.”

A teapot floats over to refill their hot chocolate every time it gets low, and by the time Finn and Rey are done being questioned Rey’s stomach is starting to feel uncomfortably full.

“I think I would be dead by now if I hadn’t run into Rey,” Finn finishes.

“That was incredibly brave of you,” Luke says to her. “I know this must be overwhelming for someone like you.”

Something in the tone of Luke’s voice puts her on edge- like he thinks she’s a wild animal he needs to soothe. Still, she finds herself speaking the words that will take her right into his trap.

“You mean a No-Maj?”

“Yes, Rey. In order to protect ourselves from persecution, from repeating the tragedies of the Salem witch-trials or Spanish Inquisition, magic-kin must be kept secret from No-Maj.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” she assures him desperately.

“I know,” he says kindly. Then he points his wand at her and whispers “ _obliviate_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/feedback literally makes my day, even just a <3 to let me know you're still reading!
> 
> Twitter: [ @dipole_m0ment](https://twitter.com/dipole_m0ment)!


	5. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Han, Leia, and Luke exchange tense words, Maz gazes at Rey bemusedly. She figures it won’t be long until the others know Luke’s spell didn’t work and feels a stab of panic.
> 
> _“…not dumping her back with that two-bit crime lord!”_
> 
> Rey holds Maz’s gaze as she slowly reaches over to touch Finn’s shoulder, waiting for the small woman to call attention to her. 
> 
> _“…naïve if you think we can go to MACUSA…!”_
> 
> Finn turns to her in surprise, wet tracks down his cheeks, and she presses a finger against her lips. His face brightens with understanding, and they ever so slowly rise from the couch and start inching towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has given comments and kudos! It really does warm my heart and gives me an energy boost to write faster :-)
> 
> If you're enjoying this story, check out my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dipole_m0ment) for micro-fics set in the same universe!

Rey squints her eyes against a wave of vibrant green light. She feels the magic flow over and around her, but she’s a closed circuit and there’s no place for the spell to connect. The magic cannot splice into her- she is protected the way polymer coating protects vulnerable copper wires.

Next to her, Finn hangs his head.

Han jumps to his feet angrily. 

“Hey!”

Luke ignores him. “Rey,” he says gently, “you are sleeping. Everything that has happened since the rest stop has been a dream. Magic is not real. There is no such thing as magic-kin. When you wake up from this dream it will fade from your memory like so many dreams do.” His voice is soft and melodic, like he is trying to hypnotize her.

And he is _trying_ , she realizes- but it’s not working. She’s quite aware of the fact that she is not dreaming, and that Luke has just tried to cast a spell on her. The hot chocolate sours in her stomach. 

Maybe she doesn’t belong here, but that doesn’t give them any right to take away her memories. She’d felt hopeful for the first time in a long while. Finn might be the first friend she’s ever had, other than her elderly neighbor Mr. Kelson. Han said he would help her find her parents, and it didn’t feel like the empty promises she was used to. Luke almost took all that away with a wave of his wand.

Attention is diverted from Rey by Han looming over Luke and jabbing his finder in his brother-in-law’s face. “That was way out of line!”

Luke stands calmly, forcing Han to move back. “Han, she’s not one of us. I know it’s awful, but it needed to be done.”

Han’s face flushes with fury, and his wife brings a hand to her mouth.

“Not one of you, huh?” His voice is so biting the other man flinches. “Does that mean you’re gonna do it to me next?”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Leia stands now too, presumably in an attempt to diffuse the situation. “Luke, this was not your call to make.”

While Han, Leia, and Luke exchange tense words, Maz gazes at Rey bemusedly. She figures it won’t be long until the others know Luke’s spell didn’t work and feels a stab of panic.

_“…not dumping her back with that two-bit crime lord!”_

Rey holds Maz’s gaze as she slowly reaches over to touch Finn’s shoulder, waiting for the small woman to call attention to her. 

_“…naïve if you think we can go to MACUSA…!”_

Finn turns to her in surprise, wet tracks down his cheeks, and she presses a finger against her lips. His face brightens with understanding, and they ever so slowly rise from the couch and start inching towards the door. Rey has no idea what they will do once they escape, but she’d rather have her memories and be on the run with Finn than go back to Plutt.

Maz continues to watch them with a small smile.

_“…expect this wizard Nazi crap from you of all people!”_

They don’t make it very far.

The conversation cuts off abruptly before they’ve taken more than a few steps. Maz releases a hearty chuckle into the silence.

“Took you long enough! Your magic won’t work on her, Headmaster.”

Luke fumbles to pull his wand out again nonetheless, and Han snatches it out of his grasp and tosses it over a shoulder. It clatters to the floor. Luke scowls.

“ _Han_!” It comes out sounding more like a whine than an admonishment.

“What happened?” Leia asks.

“I cannot be certain without a closer look. Someone went to great lengths to remove her from the currents of magic. Luke’s spell slid off her the same way Chewie’s glamour did.”

Maz slides from her perch on the armchair and pads over to Rey. “May I look into your eyes, child? I believe you have secrets within.”

Secrets. It must be about her parents. She could finally know why they left her, where they went, what happened to them. What she needs to do so they can come back. If magic is real, then there has to be a way to find answers.

Rey gives her permission.

Maz removes her thick goggles so she can peer into Rey’s eyes unassisted. She grabs the girl’s face between two calloused hands and tilts her head this way and that. Rey holds her breath and stares steadily back into the ancient woman’s gaze.

Maz’s eyes are brown. Most people have brown eyes, but if you look closely, they are like fingerprints. Everyone’s are a little different. There is a wide spectrum of shades and hues, and even a texture to the iris. Some look like swirling galaxies, others like the surface of the moon. Maz’s eyes remind Rey of a tiger’s eye quartz.

“Hmm,” the small woman says after a prolonged silence. “You are magic-kin, child. I was wrong before to say you do not belong.”

Rey’s heart skips a beat.

“Is she a squib?” Luke asks.

“Quite the opposite.” Maz answers Luke with an admonishing glare. Rey is heartened to know that Luke’s attempt at bewitching her was universally unpopular. “There is magic within her, but it has been hidden and placed under a powerful ward.”

Leia inhales sharply. “Who would do that to a child?”

“Someone desperate,” the small woman replies. “Someone who did not want her to be found.”

Maz turns back to Rey. “Tell me child, what do you remember of your parents?”

Rey feels all the years of hope and isolation well up in her eyes and spill out. “They’re coming back for me,” she insists weakly. Finn puts his arms around her as her body starts to shake. “They promised they’d come back…”

* * *

Ben has a new idol in Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin had been a child prodigy. His mother, Shmi Skywalker, was a muggle and his only known parent. Some speculated that his father must come from a powerful pureblood line based on Anakin’s raw power, but none stepped up to claim him. It would have caused a small scandal if the father were to do so, since magic-kin/muggle relations were heavily frowned upon, but would not have resulted in an Azkaban sentence such as during Palpatine’s administration.

Anakin was unaware his magical abilities were anything more than exceptional luck until his 11th birthday, when he was discovered by Hogwarts Headmaster Qui-Gon Jinn. Despite his late introduction to magical studies (most children started practicing with toy wands shortly after they learned to read), Anakin quickly rose to the top of his Hogwarts class. He set quidditch records, started the Dueling club, and received top marks on all his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. He won the Young Merlin Award for his community service and academic achievements.

He was driven by the tragic death of his mother at the hands of an Azkaban escapee, and was widely expected to become the greatest Auror of his time.

The circumstances of his death were only known by top officials in the Ministry, none of whom survived Prime Minister Palpatine’s self-appointment as Emperor. Well, some survived- just without their sanity.

No one liked to talk about those times. Palpatine had seemed like the strong unifying presence they needed to protect the global magic-kin community from discovery, but his seemingly sensible policies were revealed with time to be power-grabs and his laws were ruthlessly enforced by the mysterious Darth Vader.

Anakin had worked closely with Palpatine before his reign of terror began and was assumed to have been murdered by Vader after discovering Palpatine’s true nature.

The familiar sound of the Falcon’s doors slamming closed broke Ben out of his reverie, and he hastily waves his wand over his mother’s archive bowl to erase traces of his research. He hurriedly lights a pair of candles on the kitchen table and arranges himself in front of his schoolbooks just in time. His father and Chewie enter through the front door, stomping snow off their boots and hair-covered feet, respectively. A flick to the light switch does nothing.

Han sighs and joins Ben at the table.

“Been busy, I see,” Han remarks tiredly.

“You and Mom have been gone.”

“I know, Kid, and I’m sorry. We both are. There was a situation down in Arizona and your mom’s still taking care of things. I’m sorry we weren’t here for dinner.”

Ben had planned to punish his parents with silent treatment and scowls for the foreseeable future, but his resolve wavered at his father’s unexpected apology. “It’s fine,” he lied.

“Well, pot roast may be off the menu but I brought something better.” He waves Chewie over, and the sasquatch slides a flat cardboard box across the table. 

Ben can’t help brightening upon seeing the packaging-- square beef patties sandwiched between white bread buns.

“Power’s already out, so you might as well use your mojo.”

Ben gives up on trying to hide his delight as he rips open the flimsy cardboard and flicks his wand with practiced movements. Half a dozen No-Maj- made frozen beef sliders slowly heat to the perfect temperature for consumption.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Questions? General thoughts? Let me know!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> PS- I have a head canon that "magic-kin" love No-Maj junk food because they are used to home cooking and sometimes you just want a Big Mac and not an artisanal hamburger.


End file.
